John 10:10 says "The thief comes to kill, steal and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full". The thief obviously being satan and "I" being Jesus.
I started with this verse because I want to show the clear different between how the enemy wants you to feel and how Jesus wants you to feel. When we sin, (and we are going to because only Jesus was perfect) the enemy has one goal and only one goal. Actually, let me back up for a second. The enemy has 2 goals....one is to first get you to sin, and the 2nd is to condemn you for the sin. But the one goal of satan's that I wanted to talk about today is the way the enemy wants you to feel when you have "messed up".
It is God's plan for sin to have less and less of an impact on our lives once we have accepted Christ as our savior. He desires us to walk away from the sins of our past that we have been forgiven for, and to start life over with a clean slate. Hence the term "born again". We literally are dying to our old life and being born again. God is giving us the chance to hit the reset button on our life and do things differently. However, the enemy does not want this. He wants every mistake we make, every slip up, every sin that we commit to remind of of our past. He wants to slam the "old you" in front of your face and try to convince you that you haven't changed. He wants to discourage you into thinking that what you experienced with God wasn't real. He wants to whisper lies into your ear saying things like "you will never be better" or "You'll never escape 'this' sin. It has to much of a grip on you". And that my friends is condemnation. The true definition of the word condemnation is "the expression of very strong disapproval" or in action it means "to condemn someone to punishment". The very definition of the word goes against what Christ came to do for us on the cross. Gods word tells us that He came to accept our punishment. (see Romans 3:21-31 and 1 Peter 2:24). So if Christ already took the punishment for our sins, then why after we accept His gift, would He want to punish us more. HE WOULD NOT! Romans 8:1 tells us "Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus". Not some...none!! So when you feel guilt coming on, when you feel shame, when you feel like something is trying to drag you back or remind you who you used to be, please know that is not Jesus! Then go to Jesus and ask Him to help you with that. Tell satan that you do NOT receive that. That you are born again....a new creation...through Jesus and just because you may have messed up, you are not who you used to be!
So that brings me to the other point of this blog. If we know Jesus (or God) does not condemn us, then what is conviction and what is the difference. Ahhh...my friend conviction is done out of love. Conviction is the Holy Spirit nudging you to take something to Jesus. Conviction is like Jesus standing in front of you and saying "hey, I want to be a little closer to you, but there is something standing between us and we really need to deal with is so we can move it out of the way and you can experience more of Me". The Holy Spirit will convict you when there is a choice to be made of right or wrong and let you know the choice you NEED to make. One definition of the word conviction is "a strong persuasion"....I love that. The Holy Spirit would love you enough that He would be trying to strongly persuade you to do the right thing, confess that unspoken sin to Jesus, get closer to God, get deeper into God's word....or whatever He personally needs to persuade you to do so that you can get to a deeper level with Christ. When I think of the Holy Spirit convicting me I think of a loving parent saying "I may not be able to stop you from making this choice, but I am begging you not to. If you do it will harm you and break my heart". That is love...that is compassion....that is a Savior saying "I died for you so sin doesn't have to 'rule' you anymore. Walk in freedom!"
Do not allow the enemy to lay guilt and shame on you if you mess up....allow the Holy Spirit to guide you to Jesus so you can lay it down at the feet of Jesus and experience His grace, His forgiveness, His mercy and His love. Know that it was paid for on the cross and you do not have to live feeling condemned another day!
God, we thank YOU that if anyone has the right to condemn us it is you, but you choose not to. Thank You that You love us enough to convict our hearts to do the right thing and that Your Holy Spirit will always guide us back to You. Help us to be wise enough to know the difference between condemnation and conviction, and repent anything that stands between us and You. Always keeping our hearts at a place they they can grow closer to you. In Jesus name, Amen
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